w00t

Cleveland Cavaliers declared NBA Champions!



When's the parade?

Hope

They say it springs eternal.

They say it's one of the three things that remains (along with faith and love).

They say Obi-Wan Kenobi is the only.

And it's something I couldn't live without.


When Rachel and I made the decision to move to Columbus, there was faith involved, there was love involved, but most of all, there was hope involved. Hope that this painful decision would result in our ability to advance in live, and thrive, and find abundance.

I've yet to see evidence that our hope and faith were completely off the mark. Nothing of full fruition, yet, but enough to keep me going.

But, today, I write of hope of another kind.

Because, I have the hope that tonight is, honestly, the beginning of the end for the sports misery of my home town. For tonight, I honestly believe that the Cleveland Cavaliers will defeat the Boston Celtics, and march forward this year, ending with a parade in Cleveland to celebrate the winning of the NBA Finals.

I know, I know. I had a similar good feeling about the Indians this year. But, consider the following:

1) Unlike the Indians, the Cavaliers did something to upgrade their team in the offseason. And, the trade only cost them spare parts and junk.

2) Unlike just about any time in my memory, the Cavaliers, unlike every other team I root for, showcase the best player in the sport, and he's not even into his prime yet.

So, tonight, I return to the very place I sat and watched the Cavaliers lose game seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals a few months ago. The Cavaliers also return to the exact spot where they lost game seven a few months ago.

This is the year. I can feel it. I believe it. I have hope.

The Difference Between a King and a Pawn

If you watched the Cavs game yesterday, you heard them reference (several times) a freestyle rap from Jay-Z that dissed the Wizards and Deshawn Stevenson.

A quick internet search turned it up. It's by no means a great song, and it's full of adult lyrics, so be warned if you choose to listen to it. A couple of funny lines though. And with all the hype it was given, I figured it's only fair to share it:

boomp3.com

Where Amazing Happens

The NBA's current marketing tagline is "where amazing happens".

And today, that really came to pass. In a big way.

It's sometimes hard to get excited for first-round match-ups in the NBA playoffs. With, you know, 16/30 NBA teams making the playoffs, juggernauts up against pathetic squads, and teams half mailing it in, it's usually not a great product.

Today, that was not the case.

First, you had Gilbert Arenas doing his best A-Rod impersonation. You know ... if A-Rod is Mr. April because he shows up big in April and then fades in October, than we need to call Gilbert Arenas Mr. First Quarter, because he came up clutch with a buzzer beater there, but was nowhere to be found when his team needed a big shot in the fourth. Throw in that amazing dunk by LeBron (you know, this one) and that game was awesome.

Then you had arguably the greatest game one of a first round series in NBA history. That Suns-Spurs game was simply phenomenal. The foul trouble, the clutch shots, the poor decisions, the amazing individual plays, the strategies and counter-strategies. If you want to convince someone to become an NBA fan, I think you'd show them that game. And it might be enough.

Throw in an amazing meltdown by the Mavericks and a road win by the Jazz (who if they can win on the road can be the best team in the league ... oh, and **** you Carlos Boozer), and this was just an amazing day for the NBA.

I hear a lot of people wonder if they can follow the NBA and wonder if it can capture their attention and imagination. Today, that answer was a resounding yes. And I've no reason to believe it wasn't simply the first of many days like that over the course of the playoffs.

Baseball is my first love, and it takes quite a bit to get me to focus on a sport other than baseball this time of the year. But today, the NBA did that.

And while it is where Amazing happens, I think they could also steal baseball's tagline today:

I live for this.

Memo to ESPN, Part 2

These blackout rules are just ridiculous.

You black out my Cavs games, because I'm apparently in the Cleveland market, and when the game is on both ESPN and FSN-Ohio, I can't watch it (blacked out on ESPN, don't get FSN-Ohio). You do the same thing for Indians games on STO and ESPN (again, don't get STO). So, today, you're blacking out the Tigers' game because ... I'm in the Detroit market?

I'm okay with you considering me to be in the Detroit market if it means you stop blacking out Cleveland stuff. But I honestly don't think you should consider me to be in both the Cleveland and Detroit markets at the same time.

This does not make me happy.

Wow

I'm amazed by two things from the Cavs victory tonight:

1) They won despite not having Andy, Sasha, Gooden, and Boobie.

2) They had four key players injured and none of them are named Larry Hughes



Seriously, though, I love this team. If they get healthy for the playoffs, watch out.